Town calls ‘Flintstone House’ a public nuisance, sues owner

FILE - In this Feb. 19, 2004, file photo, James Fang, left, talks with his mother, Florence Fang, as president and publisher of The San Francisco Examiner and Independent newspapers Scott McKibben, second from right, announces The Anschutz Co. purchasing the newspapers from the Fang family at the Ritz-Carlton in San Francisco. A San Francisco Bay Area town is suing Florence Fang, the owner of the quirky Flintstone House, alleging she violated local codes when she put dinosaur sculptures in the backyard and made other landscaping changes that caused local officials to declare it a public nuisance. The town of Hillsborough filed a complaint this week against Fang, the media mogul who purchased the orange-and-purple, bulbous-shaped house in 2017. (Jeff Chiu, File/Associated Press)

ByAssociated Press

March 16

HILLSBOROUGH, Calif. — A San Francisco Bay Area town is suing the owner of the quirky Flintstone House, alleging she violated local codes when she put dinosaur sculptures in the backyard and made other landscaping changes that caused local officials to declare it a public nuisance.

The town of Hillsborough filed a complaint this week against Florence Fang, a media mogul who purchased the orange-and-purple, bulbous-shaped house in 2017.

She began installing the large metal sculptures, a sign in the driveway that reads “Yabba Dabba Doo,” figurines of characters from “The Flintstones” animated sitcom, a staircase, a parking strip, a deck and other additions to the front and backyard.

In October, a code enforcement panel found the changes created “a highly visible eyesore and are out of keeping with community standards.”

The complaint was filed after she failed to comply with the panel’s order to remove the features.

Fang is a former publisher of The San Francisco Examiner. Her grandson said in a statement that his grandmother “will fight to save the Flintstone House.”

“I think the dinosaurs are beautiful. They make everyone smile and should stay,” Sean Fang said.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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